


Baby Fever

by f0rever15elf



Category: Bloodsucking Bastards (2015)
Genre: F/M, Pedro Pascal - Freeform, addiction mention, death mention, drug mention, vampire reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27075886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rever15elf/pseuds/f0rever15elf
Summary: Life with Max couldn’t have been more perfect. Or so you thought. That is, until you’re hit with a case of baby fever. A vampire with a baby? Now that’s crazy.
Relationships: Max Phillips/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Baby Fever

You grew up on stories of vampires. You knew all the tales, from Nosferatu to Dracula to the Lamia of Libya and the Strix of Ancient Rome or the Strigoi of Romania. You loved vampire lore in all of its forms. You had often fantasized what it would be like; heightened senses and improved strength and speed. Would you have had an insatiable blood lust or would you have been able to live among humans without them even realizing you were a member of the undead? Most years on Halloween, you went as some type of vampire, each year shelling out more money for a better costume, the collection of faux fangs in your jewelry box growing. Most people would have called you obsessed, but it’s not like you actually _wanted_ to be a vampire. It’s not like you seriously considered draining the blood from those around you. Where others had hobbies with shooting or racing or sports or sewing…you had your vampires. As with most lore, it was just fun. You knew vampires weren’t real…right?

The new boss at work was…weird. Overly peppy and confident with one of the most fake smiles you had ever seen. It made your skin crawl when he’d lean on the doorway of your desk, hands in his pockets of that grey suit he always wore while he grinned at you, rambling on and on about the seduction of sales. You didn’t get this guy. Your numbers were great, always have been. You out-sold everyone on the floor, matched really only by Evan. The difference being people actually listened to you, unlike that spineless twit. So why was he always in your office rambling to you about the things you already knew? Must just like to hear himself talk.

It was only when things started changing that you started growing concerned. The clowns in the cubicle started dressing more proper, but they all looked sick with sunken eyes and pallid skin. The talking stopped and the room got colder. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought they had all been turned into members of the unholy hoard or something. But that was ridiculous, vampires weren’t real.

The day the Max cornered you at your car changed everything. He had appeared out of no where, suddenly leaning against the nose of your car. “Hey sweetness,” he drawled with his signature slimy smile.

“What do you need Phillips,” you snap. You were exhausted and just wanted to go home and sleep after a particularly difficult meeting with Phalicite.

“Can a boss not talk to his star employee after work?”

“Depends, you gonna turn me into a vampire like the rest of the office?” You were only half joking. The longer you observed everything, the more certain you became that that’s what was happening, even if it seemed to be the most ridiculous of conclusions. At least if Max gave you a straight answer, you’d be able to digest that and hopefully not lose your mind over the fact that vampires were very much real.

Max scoffed, pushing off the nose of the car before he made is way to you, staring you down with his hands in his pockets as you leaned back against your car. “Not unless you want me to. Unlike the rest of that lousy excuse of an office, your numbers have set the standard for the company.” He reached up to brush a bit of hair back from your face and you shivered at how cold his fingers were. “I came to ask you to dinner, actually.”

“Back up, so the office employees _are_ vampires. I’m not just going crazy from having read way too much about them, right?” The laugh Max let out at your question made your stomach flip.

“No, sweetness, you’re not going crazy. I have my hoard working to bring this company to the top. What do you think of my business model?” The grin across his face bordered on sickening and you shook your head.

“I think that if you bring your ‘business model’ anywhere near my neck, I’ll snap the leg off my desk and stab you with it.” A grin had crept into your voice, and Max was well aware of that. “I also think I’d like to hear a bit more about it. Maybe over some wine? Just so long as I’m being offered dinner, and not offered _as_ dinner.” Max had grinned, a laugh hissing out through his far-too-white teeth as he nodded at you request, and off the two of you went.

That had been nearly half a century ago. Fifty long years with the love of your life. Or…well…unlife. Around your twenty-ninth birthday, you and Max finally sat down to have the very serious discussion about turning you. What would it entail? Would you end up like the rats in the office? What are the restrictions? He was open and honest about all of it; the pain, the lack of control at first, what was myth and what was fact. When you finally felt ready, those fangs of his dug into the tender flesh of your neck like a hot knife through butter, and you fell limp in his arms.

You took to the life of a vampire with surprising ease and grace, developing your control with the help of your sire and lover. Now, you find yourself walking among humans without a care in the world, the only change being that daytime trips to the park were far less frequent than they use to be. But that didn’t much matter. Night time trips were just as enjoyable.

You love Max, truly and wholly. For the years you spent together with him while your heart still beat, he was the reason for it. And the day he became the reason it stopped is one you will never forget. But now, as you lay with him in your arms, his head nestled against your chest as he dozes after a particularly satisfying meal, you feel a longing in your chest for something more. Something that you never once thought you would yearn for. Your fingers card through his hair gently as your mind wanders, delving into this thought, this desire. You don’t even notice when your breathing stops, so lost are you in your own thoughts, but the sudden ceasing of the rise and fall of your chest stirs Max from his state of semi-consciousnesses.

“Sweetness?” he mumbles, still blissed out on the high from feeding. Apparently the one he had found was rolling on some molly at the time, and though vampires weren’t susceptible to that kind of addiction, it was still a pleasurable experience. His fingers trace along your side and you drop your eyes to his, a smile pulling at your lips.

“Yes, Max?”

“You stopped breathing. Penny for your thoughts?” He lolls his head to the side, resting it on your breast as he gazes up at you, pupils dilated.

“They’re silly thoughts, Max, don’t worry.” You tap his nose with a smile, causing his eyelids to flutter. They were definitely silly thoughts.

“All the same, I’d like to hear what’s going on in that lovely mind of yours.”

You let out a small sigh, looking up to the gossamer that canopies your bed as you contemplate for a moment. “Have you ever…considered children?” As soon as the words are out of your mouth, you feel like a fool. A vampire with a child, what a ridiculous notion. Especially you, of all people. Ever since you could remember, children had grossed you out, so where was this baby fever coming from all of a sudden?

“To eat? I’d rather not. You’ve seen all the gross stuff they do and eat. They’d probably taste terrible, if their smell is any indication. Plus they’d barely be a snack.” You smack the top of his head lightly, chuckling.

“No you dummy, I mean to raise.” He stiffens in your arms and you look down at him. His brow is furrowed, creased with anxiety as he stares at the wall across the room, head still resting on your breast. You run your hands through his hair to soothe him before bringing a finger to his forehead to gently smooth the lines there.

“You want kids?” he asks softly, not turning his gaze to you as he lays perfectly still. You let out a soft hum, noncommittal.

“It’s been on my mind a lot recently, I won’t lie. Annabeth brought her newborn to the office and he was so soft and small…It made me wonder what you would look like holding a little one.” Max slowly sits himself up, rearranging you so your legs are laying in his lap as he listens to you.

“You know we can’t procreate, sweets. Not…like humans can, anyways. Any kid we make would be that age forever.” His hands trace gentle trails along your legs. When you were human, it always made you shiver, his fingers always cold compared to the warmth of your skin. Now that you operate at the same temperature, it reminded you of when you were human, a warm caress.

Leaning forward, you cup his cheek gently, turning his face to look at you. It isn’t often you see Max worried about anything, but right now he looked…borderline terrified. “I’m not talking about turning a child, Max. I’d never consider that. I’m talking about…well…what if we looked into adoption?” He rests his hand over yours, leaning into your touch as his eyes slipped closed.

“Adoption,” he murmurs, the word bordering on a purr as it falls from his lips. When his beautiful brown eyes look back up at you, there is a small glimmer of light in them. “Like me.” You nod, leaning forward to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Max had told you about his life growing up. It wasn’t an easy one to stay the least. He had been given up at birth by a drug addicted mother who left strict orders to never contact her about him, and he never knew who the man who knocked her up was. He had spent a handful of years in the orphanage before he was booted to the foster care system where he was passed from family to family. It wasn’t until he was twelve that he found the family that took him in permanently.

“Just like you sweetheart.” Your thumb runs along his lower lip and he quickly takes it into his mouth, nibbling on it before letting it go, smiling at you.

“Is this what you really want, sweetness?” You nod assuredly and he lets out a shaky breath. “Then…let’s do it.” He takes your hand from his face, squeezing it as he smiles at you. If your heart still beat, it would have leapt into a sprint. Instead, you beam at your husband, leaning forward to capture his lips in a heated kiss. The two of you fall back against the covers for a day spent tangled together, unable to tell where one ends and the other begins.

~~~~

Outside the door of the orphanage Max stands frozen, staring up at the looming sign. You hold his hand securely in your own, waiting until he’s ready to go inside. “We don’t have to do this, Max. It’s ok.” Your voice is soothing, worried for your husband as he shows that rare moment of vulnerability. It’s hard to imagine just what thoughts might be going through his head, but whatever they are, you don’t want to push him to something that makes him uncomfortable. He shakes his head, taking an unneeded breath before smiling at you.

“I’m okay. Let’s do this thing. Find our own little hellion.” You return his smile with a nod, and together you make your way inside.

The woman in charge of this orphanage is so sweet, greeting you both with a warm and welcoming smile. A portly older woman with kind green eyes and a beautifully sweet scent. You’d come to lean in your decades as a vampire that the scent of someone generally was a good indicator of the kind of person they were. Everything about the headmistress here screamed “protector.” She leads the two of you through the various rooms of the orphanage filled with kids as young as five to as old as 16. A few came up to say hello, but none of them seemed to keen on either of you, which weighed heavy on your silent heart. Max keeps his arm around your waist the whole time, grounding you. You really should have predicted this; children have a sixth sense of sorts for these kinds of things. They could probably tell neither of you were human, or at least that there was something strange about the two of you.

“We also have a little girl who is waiting to come to us, just born the other day. Her mother unfortunately passed during child birth and there was no next of kin for us to contact, not ever a father.” The woman’s voice is morose as she recounts the story, and you feel Max’s arm tighten around you.

“May we see her?” he asks, more hopeful than you’ve ever heard before. “I…was in a similar situation as her when I was born.” The woman’s soft gaze falls on him, giving him an understanding smile before nodding.

“She’s at Gen Med in their NICU. She was born a bit early, so she has to stay there for a bit longer. If you’d like, we can get all of your paperwork in the system now so if you end up wanting to adopt her, it’s just a signature away.” Max looks down at you with hopeful eyes as the headmistress finishes and you smile at him, nodding. “Perfect, right this way. “

What seems like an endless amount of paperwork later, the two of you find yourselves at the Gen Med front desk. The headmistress had contacted them about your arrival, and a nurse waits for you to sign in before taking you back to the NICU. “This little one is premature. She needs to be with us for about two more week before we can release her, but she’s showing excellent progress, and she is otherwise healthy.”

“That’s good to hear!” You chime, smiling with unbridled excitement that causes Max and the nurse to both chuckle. A swipe of a key card, and the three of you enter a small, warm room with an incubator box on one side. The nurse hands you both a set of masks, and you humor her, an image to uphold as she leads you to the box.

“Here she is. She has no name yet, only her social security number that’s tied to her.” When you lay your eyes on the tiny baby girl resting in the incubator box, your still heart melts and you let out a strangled sounding sigh. She is the most beautiful creature you have ever laid eyes on, so tiny and fragile in her box. So alone. You look to Max, trying to keep yourself from crying as vampire tears are less than savory. His eyes are locked on the tiny life in the box in front of him, awe written all over his face.

“She’s…so small,” he whispers, earning a nod from the nurse.

“Premmies usually are. She’s small but strong, and getting stronger every day. She’s been putting on steady weight and we will be able to remove her feeding tube soon.” Max tears his eyes away from the baby, looking to you with a silent question and you have to swallow back down your heart as you nod before looking back to the nurse.

“We want to giver her her forever home,” you manage to rasp out, your voice thick with unshed tears. You can tell the nurse is smiling behind her mask as she nods.

“I’ll give you both some time with her, and let the front desk know so they can coordinate with the orphanage to get things squared away.” She moves to leave, hand resting on the door. “If you need anything, press the buzzer by the incubator. When you’re done, just poke your head out and we’ll head back out front to finish getting things set up.” With that, she sees herself out leaving you alone with the little life in front of you.

“She’s so tiny and fragile looking,” Max murmurs in awe, looking like he’s resisting the urge to press himself against the glass of the incubator. Reaching over, you take his hand, lacing your fingers with his. He rips his gaze away from the little one, looking back to you with such a bright shine in his eyes, you fall in love with him all over again. “We’re gonna take her home one day.” You nod, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears.

“You’re going to be a dad.” The words slip from you lips barely above a whisper.

“I’m going to be a dad,” he echoes back, looking back at your soon to be daughter. “We’re gonna…have a family. I can’t believe it.”

~~~~

In the days following your visit to the anticipated new arrival, Max works like a maniac. Thank the heavens vampires don’t really need much sleep, because he takes every advantage of it. When he isn’t at work, he’s shopping for things or at home fixing up the house. The house is rearranged, baby proofed. He converts the office to a nursery, complete with crib, rocking chair, and changing station. Every spare bit of storage is packed full of diapers, bottles, formula, baby toys, and baby clothes. And through it all, Max is a nervous wreck. He had always been a talker, but now he actually won’t shut up, and it’s been days since you’ve gotten a word in edge wise as Max runs about, asking questions then answering them himself before running off to do something else and muttering about it the whole way.

The night before you are to bring your little one home, you’re heading to your room to unwind in the shower when you hear Max in the nursery, talking to himself. You press yourself against the hallway wall, listening to him for a moment. “I don’t know if I can do this.” You heart sinks. “What if she hates me? What if she’s _scared_ of me? What if I hurt her or don’t know what she needs?” His voice is frustrated and your heart breaks for him. For acting so cocky all of the time, Max has a terrible view of himself at times, and though you’ve done your best to help him work through these, there is still more work to be done. “I can’t do this. _I can’t do this.”_

Peeking into the room, you see him kneeling on the knit rug in the center, holding a small onesie in his hands. You soundlessly step into the room, placing your hand on his shoulder causing him to jump and snap his head around to look at you. You kneel by him, your hand moving up to cup his cheek as you give him a gentle smile. “You can do this, Max. I know you can do this.”

His arms wrap around your waist as he pulls you into his lap, hiding his face against your neck. “How are you not absolutely terrified right now?” His voice is soft, almost shaky as he talks, his lips trembling against the column of your neck.

Wrapping your arms around him, you cradle him gently against you, running your fingers through his hair in the way that instantly relaxes him. “I _am_ scared, lover. I have been since before I ever brought up the idea to you. But that’s normal with being a new parent.”

“Then how are you so calm?” He keeps his face hidden as he speaks, his voice muffled.

“Because I’m excited too.” He pulls back, looking up at you with his big, coffee eyes and you quickly press a kiss to his nose. “I want to hold her here at our home. I want to give her a name, give her our last name. I want to see you lounging on the couch with her sleeping on your chest. I want to take family photos and hang them all around the house. I’m excited to get these things. I’m excited to have our little family.” He doesn’t quite look convinced, so you continue, trying to not get distracted at the feeling of his fingers resting on the skin just above your hip bones. “Besides, you kind of have experience raising a baby already. When you changed me. You made sure I fed regularly, you taught me to control my urges and my strength, you taught me how to use my powers, and you kept me safe whenever we went out.” Your hand gently cups his cheek, thumb tracing over the cheek bone. “You can do this. Besides, when has the great Max Phillips ever backed down from a challenge, hm?”

When you see the smile tweak the corners of his lips, you know you’ve gotten through to him. “I can do this,” he mumbles, gazing up at you like he’s a blind man seeing the beautify of spring for the first time. “I can do this.”

“There’s my Max.” You capture his lips with your own, cradling his face. Everything would be alright.

The next day, your life as a family begins. Your daughter is ready and waiting for you when you arrive at the hospital, dressed in soft pink and swaddled in a blanket Max had brought up a few days prior for her. Big grey eyes not yet showing what color they would be stare at you both as you take her carefully in your arms. She weighs absolutely nothing, still so tiny and helpless in your arms and you fall for her. You fall for her harder than anything before. There is no fear in her big, shiny eyes. Only curiosity. You place a gentle kiss to her forehead and before you know it, you and Max are carrying her through the threshold of your home, her home.

Coming up beside you, Max wraps an arm around your waist, his other hand brushing his daughter’s cheek with touches feather soft. “Welcome home, little Genevieve.” His voice is as soft as the caress to her face, filled with a warmth you had only ever heard him use with you, and it’s at that point you can no longer fight back the tears. Streaks of read trail down your face despite your best efforts to hold them back, and little Genevieve just watches. She doesn’t cry or scream, she just watches with those curious little eyes.

“This is probably the only inconvenient thing about being a vampire,” you sniffle, looking to Max who already has a cloth to help clean your cheeks. “This is messier than when I was human.” Max simply chuckles as he wipes your face clean, leading you to the couch to sit, your babe still cradled in your arms. He sits next to you, your leg pressed to his, staring at her with such amazement and wonder and _love. “_ You should hold her, baby.” Your whisper startles him from his trance, and he looks up at you, that same worry from last night present in his rich brown eyes. “You can do this, remember?” His eyes stay transfixed on you for a moment before he slowly nods, shifting around to get comfortable before you carefully lay your daughter in his arms. He cradles her as if she is the most fragile, precious thing in this world, his eyes never leaving hers.

“How can she be so tiny?” He sounds awestruck as he cradles her, staring at her as if to memorize every line and crease of her face. You rest your head on his shoulder, staring down at the newest addition to your family. “She’s so…helpless and small.”

“That’s why she has us, baby. To keep her safe until she’s grown enough to take care of herself.” Reaching up, you adjust her blanket and in return she lets out a big yawn, comfortable in her new dad’s arms. Max lets out a strangled sounding squeak in reply and you look up at him just in time to see a blood red tear brim and spill down his cheek that you quickly reach to wipe away. As Max holds her, unmoving, she settles before finally falling asleep in his arms. He looks to you, reveling in your gentle smile and the feeling of this tiny life in his hands. “I told you that you could do this, my love. Now look at you. You’ve soothed our little one to sleep.” Gentle fingers brush his hair from his face, and he leans into your touch.

“Our little one. I’m a…dad. I never thought I’d be a dad, especially not after I turned. I didn’t…think I wanted this.” His eyes turn back to the sleeping babe in his arms, his body as rigid as possible as to not disturb her. “But now I have a daughter.” The wonder in his voice could have caused your frozen heart to beat once more, you’re sure of it.

“And she is going to love you so much, Max. You’re going to be her hero.” You press your lips carefully against his cheek before standing up. “Do you want to go and lay her in her crib?”

Max shakes his head slowly, eyes glued to Genevieve as she yawns once again in her sleep, settling further into her father’s hold. “I think I want to stay just like this for a while,” he whispers, and you smile. Your fingers graze his cheek before you turn to head to the kitchen to start making some premixed formula. She would be hungry when she woke up in an hour or two, best to be prepared. From the kitchen, you watch your husband holding your daughter. You can hear him cooing to her in her sleep, lavishing her with praises and little affections as he tell her how beautiful she is, how much he already loves her, and how he would tear down the heavens for her if she only asked. _How can it be possible to fall even more in love?_

If anyone had suggested to you fifty years ago that Max Phillips, the asshole fratboy of a CEO, would one day be married to you, you would have laughed. If anyone had even broached the thought of you having kids one day, you would have smacked them. And if anyone had so much as breathed the potential of you and Max having a _child_ _together_ , you would have decked them hard enough their grandkids would have felt it. Yet here you are, your little family.

You could never have dreamed of something so perfect. 


End file.
